Fyling Hall Matters Wednesday 29th March 2017 (Issue 21)

Words of the Week

This week Next week

Tricky: shameful detention

Trickier: despicable imprisonment

Trickiest: contemptible incarceration

On this day in ...

… 1807, the first steps towards the abolishment of slavery were started by the British empire. It was admittedly only within Britain itself and not within the empire, but it was still the starting point of the abolishment of slavery. It would still take twenty-six years for slavery to truly be abolished in the British empire, however up until this point there was very little hope for slaves’ freedom. Through its wealth and power Britain was able to persuade many countries to abolish slavery.

It is important to remember that Britain was almost solely responsible for the reintroduction and of the slave trade. It is estimated that Britain was responsible for the enslavement of up to as many as 3 million slaves from Africa. Perhaps this is why Britain is still so dedicated to the prevention of slavery. Either way this is a very important day in history, and was the start of freedom for many.

Jack Dudley

Goodbye Miss Edwards

As you may know, Miss Edwards is retiring from the junior school after being a teacher for nearly 40 years. Miss Edwards has helped us with so much. It would take ages to list them but includes: music, singing, English, art and history. If Miss Edwards is reading this, you are irreplaceable. We hope you have a good time in retirement.

James Brine & Toby Richardson

English/Drama visit The 6th form drama group and Y10 English Literature group were taken to watch Romeo and Juliet at the West Yorkshire Playhouse recently. Although the play was true to Shakespeare’s script, the production was modernised. It was a successful adaptation—in particular a sword fight was replaced by a boxing match—as we were able to understand the play in a more relevant context. By the end of the play, we forgot that the words were hundreds of years old!

Photos of the Week

GCSE and Sixth Form students go to see a production

of Romeo and Juliet Sixth Form Drama Students

Year 11 compete in the Maths Challenge Year 9 students build wire loop games

Year 9 celebrate annual Pi day Year 9 find the value of Pi using pies

Last weekend Anna, Johanna, Harrison and me took part in an expedition trekking across the wilderness. It was an experience that is for sure.

Day one was horrendous. First we began at Ravenscar, then got lost across the moorland on Harrison’s ‘short cut’. It was not a short cut! Then it rained. However, it was not just any rain, it was rain that did not stop for a solid 4 hours. Needless to say, we were soaking by the time we had walked 19km and had arrived at the campsite. Then we had the wonderful experience of setting up a tent in the rain.

We began setting up the tent in the first place we could finally drop our bags after walking; this was not a good idea. We spent the next 10 minutes trying to move our already formed tent into a location where the wind wasn't going to pull it down. However, it was this manoeuvre that resulted in the total disaster that was Harrisons tent.

Despite the long day before none of us got much sleep thanks to a crow who landed on the top of the girls’ tent at 6:30am. We were not pleased. However, we packed up and left the campsite at 11am to begin day two of walking.

Everything was going fine until we took a wrong turn and ended up walking into someone’s private land, on which was the biggest mansion of a house you have ever seen (they had chandeliers in their driveway!) We managed to find another route onto the planned route.

All was fine we thought, we managed to get onto the track again and sat down for one of our many breaks. It was then that Mr. Batchelor pulled up in his car looking the most relieved I have ever seen him. It turns out we had been missing for three hours and no one had any idea where we were because Ms Dopp had lost us and the GPS tracker had stopped working which had resulted in Mr Batchelor driving around the area asking every person he passed if he had seen us.

We carried onto our next campsite passing various dead animals along the way including a dead deer whose eyes had been pecked out by crows. Lovely. The next campsite was a brewery with a lovely pub next to it. We set up camp for our second night of terrible sleep. We made dinner and we all thought it was going to be a pretty boring night until the saviour in the form of another camper knocked on the tent and gave us their campfire. It was one of the nicest things anyone could have done for us, we made smores and roasted marshmallows before going to sleep, only to be woken up by yet another bird at 5:30 in the morning. This time it was a pheasant stealing our bacon that we had not sealed properly.

We set off towards our final camp: ‘Rosedale Abbey’. It was such a shame. We arrived at the final campsite at 4pm only to find it was the best campsite any of us have ever been to. At this campsite we had our own shower, toilet, there was a playground and the tent next to us was a teepee with fairy lights lining the inside. We spent the night eating up all our leftover food and praying that no animal would wake us up and we might actually be able to sleep till a decent time.

Well, our prayers were answered, the rain woke us up. But, it was our final day and, despite us spending ten minutes working out how to actually leave the campsite, we set off with high spirits. This day we only got lost three times so, honestly, I’d say it was a success. However, for the final 1km you would have thought Mr. Batchelor would have given us a nice easy walk as a reward for completing the expedition. Well, the answer to that was no. As I looked upwards, the hill did not stop going up. But, through many breaks and lots of chocolate biscuits, we arrived at the top to be treated with the most amazing sight. The school mini-bus. By some miracle we had finished the walk. The D of E practice walk was definitely an experience which we will be repeating across the Lake District in June. None of us can wait!

Isabella Clements

Gold Duke of Edinburgh Expedition

Balloon Debate This week in school year 7 and 8 took part in a debate on a famous inspiring person. Whether they’re dead or alive, they all had to pick someone with an influential background. A few people were selected to read their biography in front of both years. After that everyone wrote down secretly who they thought was the best and spoke well. Turn to page 6 to read Y7 reports on the debate! Connie Bradwell-Moore

Exam Equipment Reminder!! As we approach exam season, it is important that all students come equipped to all lessons and in readiness for the exams themselves. This includes: calculators, (the maths department would recommend Casio Scientific Calculator), drawing equipment such as compasses and protractor, pens, pencils, a transparent pencil case, ruler, rubber etc. Please can pupils use Easter as a time to get themselves prepared.

Have you ever woken up and felt tired for school? Have you ever fallen asleep in lessons? Have you ever got a detention for sleeping in lessons? If you answered yes to any of the questions above, you should pay attention to this article.

Quality sleep is important. While sleeping, our body produces growth hormones that results in better muscle tone, an increase in height and if you get enough sleep it is possible to be still growing at the age of 25.

But staying up all night to play on your phone or have a party with your friends is fun, or is it? Up until 2009 sleep deprivation was actually a way to torture prisoners.

Being deprived of sleep can affect the body’s immune system and has a negative effect on your body, including increasing the risk of getting heart disease and diabetes. Lack of sleep brings about a number of negative effects on the body and the mind, including an increased reaction time and impacts memory and cognitive functions.

If you want to be a person that is clever and have a good memory, you should get more sleep! Sleeping helps you to concentrate and increases productivity, performance and, most importantly, your memory.

So put down that phone, go to your bed and get some sleep!

Manfred Kong

The Importance of Quality Sleep

According to the newest research on the quality of life and happiness, which is crucial to calculate the HDI (Human Development Index), the Scandinavian countries come on top, once again, along with a few newcomers to the Top 10 (Germany and Ireland).

The first place was claimed by Norway, with its magnificent fjords and mountains, it also has proven to be a cradle for human rights, social policies, high quality education and healthcare. With the world average being 0.717 (out of 1.000), Norway has scored an

impressive score of 0.949! Other European countries, such as the Netherlands, Switzerland, Denmark and Iceland have also ended up in the Top 10.

Britain however has dropped two places, in comparison to last year and has fallen behind Liechtenstein and Sweden and is on the 16th position at the moment.

On the lower end of the ranking one might find the central African states along with Syria and Yemen, with the mean score being 0.403.

Aleksandr Akulov

Quality of Life

10 Questions With Mrs Banks

When have you been most afraid?

I was alone at the age of 21 in New York city bus station at 6am and I was "approached” by a “creepy guy” who wouldn’t leave me alone.

What is your greatest ambition?

To design and construct my own home

If you had a super power, what would it be and why?

I have always wanted to be able to fly

If you could go back in time, what would you change in history and why?

Prevent 9/11. So many people died and it felt closer to me because I’d stood on top of the World Trade Centre with some of my American friends.

What did you want to be when you were younger?

A teacher.

Who do you most admire in the world?

There are too many people to choose from.

What is your favourite album/song and why?

At the moment it is The Sound of Silence by Disturbed which is a cover of a Simon and Garfunkel song. It’s just so powerful and wonderful played loud.

What possession would you save in a fire?

My boxes containing all the things from when my sons were little - first shoes, clay handprints etc.

What’s been the happiest moment of your life so far?

Having my two sons, spending time with them and being so proud of how well they have turned out now they are both adults

Where’s your favourite place and why?

I love San Francisco and Hong Kong, but nothing beats walking on the cliff top in Whitby on a sunny day.

Whole School Cross Country Run 2017

Shadowing the Carnegie Award is an annual reading event around the country. The CILIP Carnegie Medal is awarded by children's librarians for an outstanding book written in English for children and young people. At Fyling Hall the Learning Support Department shadows the books, and reviews them over biscuits. The shadowing team will meet every Tuesday break time between now and the middle of June to discuss the books and to swap them too. Everyone is welcome to read with us and send us the reviews to be put on the shadowing website. The books on the short list are: Salt to the Sea, Railhead, Wolf Hollow, The Bone Sparrow, The Stars at Oktober Bend, Beck, The Smell of Other People's Houses and Sputnik’s Guide to Life on Earth.

Charlotte Harris

(We will give you regular updates on our progress.)

The Carnegie Award

A hot air balloon ride is gentle, calm and relaxing. Useless you’re plummeting straight for the ground in front of you! That’s when trouble strikes. This is what nine elite people face; six of them will be thrown off and three will be untouched. But who will it be? Will it be mother Theresa who helps girls gets education? Or Sarah who is a police woman that may do something never done before?

The people who stay alive on this plummeting air balloon will be announced on Wednesday in final assembly.

Eve Harrison

On a foggy spring morning, our teacher, Mrs Woodhead, decided to invite some famous people on to a hot air balloon for a nice day out over the sea. The balloon included Stephen Hawking, Marie Curie, Barack Obama, Mother Theresa, Sarah, who is a police officer, Ewan McGregor, the queen and Malala. “What an earth could go wrong? “, they thought as they started rising up above the clouds. Floating on the clouds, they drifted with the wind over the sea. “What could that sound be?” Mrs Woodhead asked looking upwards. Oh no! A seagull popped the balloon! “Uh-oh, we’re losing height quickly. We need to lose weight.” Stephen Hawking pointed out. They threw everything off board. The food, the water, now all that was left was the people.

“We’re still falling!” Ewan pointed out. Everyone started to panic. “I’ve got it!” Mrs Woodhead screamed, “We must fight to see who gets to stay on the balloon; we will state our importance and then vote to see who stays on! I will start.” The Queen interrupted, “No, I shall start.” She said before describing her whole life story which was probably as long as Stephen Hawking’s book, ‘The Theory of Everything’ which spent 237 weeks in the Sunday Times best seller list as he explained later on. And of course it was Marie Curie and Mother Theresa who had got into a fight about who was a better example to follow. Everyone had a very persuasive argument, but who will live and who will die?

Arthur Watson

Arthur, Eve and Evie-May Review the Balloon Debate

Our proud Carnegie Award student award panel

It was a tough day for our competitors because they all knew that only 3 of them would be going into the final round. You could have sliced the atmosphere with a knife, as the participants waited anxiously for their turn. The group was so diverse from a young police officer to Mother Teresa. It was a tense debate, with strong words used to argue why each person should stay on the balloon. A fight even broke out between Ewan McGregor and Marie Curie, but luckily English teacher, Mrs Woodhead was there to break them up. Both the audience and the competitors waited in anticipation for the final results. However everybody is going to have to wait until final assembly, Wednesday 29th March, as Mrs Woodhead and Mrs Park announced the results would be revealed then.

Emie-May Burnett

If you study modern history, you should have heard of the Geneva Convention. The Geneva Convention took place following the Second World War in order to agree on rules during warfare. These rules include bans on chemical and biological warfare, and that shooting any unarmed or wounded soldiers and citizens are war crimes. The rules are comprehensive and cover a large number of rules of engagements. These rules, along with a few other which have been introduced and agreed by most countries around the world make up the “rules of war” So, you may be wondering why I think that these rules are being broken. That is because they are, or at least I believe that they are.

I decided to write an article looking into this topic after the sentencing of the Israeli soldier who got 18 months when he shot an injured unmoving man lying on the ground, following protests which turned violent. He was sentenced to 18 months in jail for “manslaughter”, a crime defined by killing a person when the killer did not intend to do or cannot be responsible for his or her actions. The soldier in question pointed his gun at a wounded man who did not move in response and shot him in the head. This was not manslaughter; this was cold-blooded murder.

So why did this happen? The answer is probably the most narrow-minded and senseless reason that exists: racism. Israel and Pakistan have incredibly poor relations, and many people from each country hate the other country. This lead to many hate crimes been the countries, however for army officials to openly shoot an unmoving protester in the head for no reason is unacceptable.

Some of you may argue that this would not happen in more developed countries which can spend more on their army. The United States of America spends more on their army than any other country so it may surprise you to learn that American soldiers regularly acts immorally in warfare. Multiple accounts of war crimes committed by American soldiers are documented. Perhaps the worst modern case documented would be the My Lai Massacre.

The My Lai Massacre was one of the most horrific incidents of violence against civilians ever recorded in modern history. It is believed that about 500 people, including mostly women and children were abused and killed. They were rounded up and brutally executed by a company of American soldiers.

Army officials covered this up until one year later when a reporter revealed the truth. Of the 26 soldiers involved, only one was convicted and ended up only

serving house arrest. Three American Servicemen, who made an effort to halt the massacre and protect the wounded, were sharply criticized by U.S. Congressmen, and received hate mail, death threats, and received mutilated animals on their doorsteps.

This is not the only *controversial* action that the US has done in recent times. The US is one of the only countries which are not part of the ICC (International Criminal Court) which would probably have prosecuted the US soldiers for their barbaric war crimes. The US also still use landmines which over 160 other countries banned under the ICBL (International Campaign to Ban Landmines), and only in 2014 did it say that it plans to ban the use of landmines in most areas (most being the important word). I could list a couple of examples of war crimes in Iraq and Afghanistan, however they are horrific and I feel that hearing about these crimes may make you feel sick.

I will say that the US systematically overlooked and covered up horrific war crimes. You may argue that many soldiers did not keep this hidden, and decided to report these atrocities, and you would be right. Many soldiers do report these crimes; however they are harshly prosecuted for these actions. Soldiers who have blown the whistle on atrocities committed by other soldiers or tried to prevent some of the atrocities, meanwhile, have been subjected to the full force of the government’s wrath.

Since 2008, six soldiers have been charged with espionage for revealing information to journalists about atrocities committed by U.S. soldiers. It is for this reason that some soldiers believe that actually committing war crimes will result in less punishment than reporting the crimes. I have looked at America because it is the largest and one of the most developed countries in the world. Despite this, and due to their lack of impartiality, America is openly supporting war crimes. Trump may have said he’d force U.S. military to commit war crimes, but I’m not sure how much of a difference that it would make.

Is this is due to our perception of war? When you think of war, you tend to think more about the losses that your country experiences more than others. This may be why soldiers almost never receive a sentence appropriate for their crimes. Perhaps this is why we also do not consider the lives of all those people who have suffered in the wars. Is it due to our lack of impartiality? This is why America needs to join the ICC and be a true symbol of justice.

Jack Dudley

The Rules of War Are Ignored

We invite you to comment on the articles expressed in our newsletters. Please email news.team@fylinghall.org giving a reference to the article/journalist by name. We are open to new ideas, your suggestions and even a bit of criticism!

News Team

Editors Jack Dudley

Callum Wallis

Reporters Manfred Kong

Aleksandr Akulov

Connie Bradwell-Moore

Charlotte Harris

Harrison Langton

James Brine

Toby Richardson

Arthur Watson

Summer Term

Monday 24th April 2.00 pm Boarders Return

Tuesday 25th April 8.30 am Term Begins

Last Monday a small group of students and teachers from Oxford and Cambridge Universities came to inform the year 11 and 12 students about how Oxbridge works.

The presentation was fascinating and hugely interesting; especially when hearing what the students had to say about their experiences and the opportunities that were provided by the universities. They also showed us the process that they used to select which applicants are accepted.

The process was more thorough than I first anticipated. They still use UCAS, like any other university, to formulate a shortlist.

Then these applicants have interviews to shorten the number of applicants even further, for some courses and colleges a written piece of work is required.

Despite these hurdles, more people are applying than ever before.

Harrison Langton

Oxbridge Anyone?

Revolutionary Technologies

If you have a keen interest in technology and keep up to date in news on technology, you may be aware of hundreds of upcoming technologies, like quantum computing or nanotechnology. Despite, this few ever end up having an impact on us. This may just be due to the fact that the technology is just not viable; however I feel that a lack of funding may be to blame for the loss of so many technological advancements.

This is why I want to talk about the benefits of some technologies in hopes that by, by making people aware of these technologies, they may receive the funding/support that they need (for independent researchers). Also I feel like some technologies are just exciting, given their potential.

The technology that really interests me is Solar panels. Most people know about solar panels and roughly how they work and some people may even have them on their roofs. Solar panels have been around for many years (the solar panel was invented in 1839) however the solar panels have had very little change since the development of silicon panels since

the 1950s aside from a notable increase in efficiency (however the average commercial solar panel still has an efficiency of about 14%).

The main problems with solar panels are that they are horribly inefficient. Despite this, new technologies using nanotechnology could mean that solar panels are over 40 per cent efficient. Nanotechnology could also be used to turn even windows into solar panels. Some power plants only run at about 46% efficiency so it may be possible that solar panels may one day be more efficient than some power plants.

The main problem with this technology is price. Nanotechnology is expensive and a lot of research is needed which may mean that the research may be delayed or even cancelled due to its cost. Other technologies, like perovskite, also may play a role in the future as they are more commercially viable but less efficient. It is hopefully unlikely for this project to be cancelled, due to its potential.

Jack Dudley